PARIS, France (August 1, 2024) — The Canadian Women’s 3x3 Team bounced back from a 19-15 loss against Germany to start their day by closing out host team France in a 13-9 victory on Thursday. This victory moves the team to 3-1 in pool play at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

“That was like the top of the energy in any 3x3 game for sure - lots of energy, and even though it was for France, like we also take that too, it’s fun to silence the crowd,” Katherine Plouffe said of the packed crowd cheering on France at Place de la Concorde.

Katherine Plouffe and Paige Crozon had four points apiece for Canada in the win. Katherine Plouffe also added six rebounds, while Michelle Plouffe added five in the win as the Canadians used a hot start to take an early 5-0 lead as they held France scoreless until a shot from Laetitia Guapo with 6:55 remaining. After a second shot from Guapo, Katherine Plouffe found Michelle Plouffe under the basket and she scored while being fouled as Canada led 6-2.

While the crowd was cheering for the home team, the Canadians soaked up every bit of the experience.

“The atmosphere was absolutely incredible,” Crozon said. “I tried to say something to Michelle, and we just couldn’t absolutely couldn’t hear it. Fortunately, we’ve been playing with each other for five years, so we have an understanding of our flow and our chemistry. There were a few breakdowns, I think, somewhat related to the atmosphere, and that’s something we will address, but overall I think we did a good job of staying level-headed, staying balanced and fighting in the really tough last minutes of the game.”

A layup from Crozon made it a three-point game for Canada with 4:45 remaining. After a missed two from Michelle Plouffe, Guapo was called for a foul under the basket. Hortense Limouzin brought France within two with 3:20 remaining, but Michelle Plouffe scored inside to give Canada an 8-5 advantage. Kacie Bosch had the play of the game as she got the steal and then scored on a difficult reverse layup to keep Canada in front by three with 1:43 remaining.

“I knew the clock was winding down, I was hoping to get a foul called,” Bosch said. “I knew that I’ve practiced that reverse a few times, and I was like, okay I know where I am on the court, I’m going to toss it up and hope for the best and it went in.”

Guapo was called for a loose ball foul on Bosch under the basket while the two battled for the rebound. Bosch made one of two free throws, extending Canada’s lead to four with 59 seconds remaining. Limouzin scored to bring France within three, but Crozon drove hard to the rim and scored while being fouled by Limouzin. With France over the foul limit, Crozon made two free throws to complete a three-point play and give Canada a 13-7 with 30 seconds remaining, and Canada went on to the victory.

In Canada’s loss to Germany earlier in the day, Katherine Plouffe and Michelle Plouffe each scored five points, while Germany was led by Sonja Greinacher’s eight-point performance and seven points from Elisa Mevius.

“I think we knew that no one was going to come out and be 7-0 for the whole tournament,” Michelle Plouffe said. “It’s one game in a long beast of a tournament.”

Greinacher scored the first five points of the game before Mevius got in on the action as well to give Germany a 6-0 lead to start. Crozon drove to the basket for Canada’s first point of the game, and then the Canadians forced a turnover on Germany, but Greinacher scored over Bosch to make it 7-1 Germany with seven minutes remaining.

The Canadians didn't stop pushing. Katherine Plouffe found Michelle Plouffe inside and she scored while being fouled. After making her free throw to complete the two-point play, Canada was within four. A strong defensive stop by Crozon ended with Katherine Plouffe drilling a two-pointer to get Canada within two. Katherine Plouffe trimmed the deficit to a point on an offensive putback, and then Crozon found a wide-open Bosch under the basket to tie the game at seven points apiece with 4:40 remaining.

Canada briefly took the lead, 10-9, after a two-pointer from Michelle Plouffe, but Greinacher tied the game with a free throw, and then Mevius hit a shot that moved Germany back in front by one. Back-to-back two-pointers from Mevius gave Germany a 15-10 lead with 2:42 remaining and Canada ran out of time to complete the comeback despite a two-pointer from Crozon trimming the deficit to four with nine seconds remaining.

Up next for the Canadians will be a meeting with the USA at 12:00 p.m. ET / 9:00 a.m. PT on Friday, Aug. 2. Canada will close out the day with a game against Spain at 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT.

Fans can catch all of the action from Paris 2024 live on CBC. In addition to TV broadcasts on CBC and partner networks TSN and Sportsnet, audiences will be able to watch live events daily on the free CBC Gem streaming service, CBC’s Paris 2024 website and the CBC Paris 2024 app for Android and iOS devices. The website and app will also house full event schedules, results, athlete bios and features, daily updates and more. Plus, exclusive coverage will be provided by CBC Sports including in-depth reports, highlights, digital series and on-demand replays of the biggest moments and events. Fans can also keep track of everything Canada Basketball by following @canadabasketball on instagram, @CanBball on Twitter, Canada Basketball on Facebook and @canbball on TikTok.